Former Berry employee sentenced to five years for child porn distribution

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Jonathan Bopp, a former carpenter in Berry’s physical plant, was sentenced to five years in prison on Jan. 2 after pleading guilty to five counts of possessing or distributing images of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct, according to The Rome News-Tribune.

Bopp, 36, could have been sentenced to as much as 20 years in prison on each count.

Judge Billy Sparks ordered that Bopp also spend 15 years on probation and pay a $2,500 fine.

According to a Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) press release from October 2017, the GBI and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security began an investigation in August of 2017 into the distribution of child pornography. The two agencies received information from the Online Child Exploitation Across New Zealand (OCEANZ) unit about images that contained minors engaged in sexually explicit activity being distributed from a residence in Rome, Georgia.

In an email sent out by President Stephen Briggs’ office on Oct. 24, 2017, Briggs wrote, “After speaking to the GBI, we have no reason to believe that any of this happened on campus or that any campus equipment was used.”

On the information from OCEANZ, a search warrant was executed at Bopp’s home, and Bopp was ultimately arrested and charged with distribution of child pornography.

Viking Fusion and the Campus Carrier previously reported that Bopp was arrested at the Berry College Police Department by the GBI. The arrest was not made by the Berry police, but they had arranged for it to take place in a controlled environment in order to ensure privacy.

Bopp received Berry’s top staff award, the Martindale Award of Distinction, in May 2014 for his “innovative ideas {which} helped streamline setups for special events and keep the campus running smoothly,” according to an article in the Alumni Accent archives.